Klaatu here. How have you all been? This sub still cracks me up lol. Oh the days when /r/atheism was just the fucking worst. Now we have nazis!!!! Hope you are all safe and well. Peace, love and Sagan bless.

Is anybody out there?

Hello :) I am a student of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland. I am currently working on my MA thesis. I need to gather some data about how English-speaking readers perceive the translation of Sagan's works. This is the link to my survey: http://goo.gl/forms/AQOpRfdglx

I would be really grateful for your answers :)

A skepticism event is dropping one of the foremost skeptics for being critical of illiberal ideologies. Some days I feel like we just need to get hit by a fucking meteor.

Richard Dawkins is the greatest living advocacte of rationality, truth, the scientific method and secular humanity. He self identifies as a feminist in the tweet and his well-known positions (e.g, "we are all Africans") are uniformly true and compassionate. He does what many others are afraid to do: call it like it is, regardless of the powers behind the positions he attacks. His critiques of the Vatican are legendary and spot on. His poetic books are invaluable resources for bringing the magic of science to the masses (e.g., "Unweaving the Rainbow" is a brilliant and incredibly well-written book). His bestselling book on religion, The God Delusion, should be mandatory reading high school. The efforts to refute his arguments fall into two categories: absurd or disingenuous. The organizers of this event are simply scared. Scared of the wrath of mob rule. Scared of the voices that scream without reason, bully without shame, and boycott and smear those who speak the truth. If you have not watched his debates on YouTube or read his many fine books there is almost certainly a large gap in your education on the most important questions of our time. How to ensure that calm, truth-based rationality continues to develop throughout the world without another craze of religious idiocy persecuting our best minds and setting us back another couple of hundred or more years. If you have had no exposure to his debates or books, I would highly recommend them; your efforts will be well repaid, regardless of your views.

WITHOUT OFFENSE, THERE IS NO CONVERSATION WORTH HAVING.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/3q3qyt/i_cant_help_seeing_buddhism_as_cynical_and/

Brave source: https://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/3m2ek9/its_strange_that_the_christian_subreddit_isnt/.

Thank gOD Sagan guides us and not Jesus otherwise we would lying while raping alter-boys rather than posting about how we hate going to Church with our parents on a news aggregation site.

Behold ye who are weak and weary. We have run short on euphoria of late but a new wind has hit our sails much like a freshly popped can of carbonated Dew. Let us rejoice in this tiny oasis we have found.

So a regular day at a certain American Retail Store. I press a button to notify the next customer to come up. She comes up with a small bag of chips and I ring it up.

Me: "Will that be all miss?"

Her: "Actually, do you have a moment to talk about Jesus Christ?"

Me: In a calm tone I tell her "I'm sorry miss, but I'm on the clock. If I stop to talk then I'll get into trouble."

Her: "It's ok if you get fired. your lord and savior will help you get a new job. Take this bible and please read with me the first page so that your soul may be cleansed."

Me: "Ma'am I can not accept it. If I accept it then I'll get in trouble and the bible will have to be thrown away. Besides, I have different beliefs so will you kindly respect mine. Please have a good day ma'am"

Her: "Do you mind telling me what FALSE religion you believe in?"

She said it in a threatening tone, so I reply to her saying this:

Me: "Ma'am, I'm an atheist... I believe in science and hard data to tell me how the Earth was created. Also, I'm naturally a good person who is tolerant and respectful of all beliefs. Now would you kindly have a nice day!"

Her: "You will burn in hell for your sins."

Me: "Hell if they allow people like you in heaven, then I'm happy im going to hell."

Edit: I'm truly tolerant of all religions regardless of my beliefs, I just hate fanatics who think they have the right to shove religion down my throat.

Source

Cosmic sailors, I stand here today with a heavy heart as one of the greatest icons of science, /u/NukeThePope, has decided to leave our laboratory of Reddit for greener pastures. Here is what he left us. Behold.

I mod for [1] /r/AtheismRebooted, [2] /r/FreeAtheism and a few others that don't matter much. Today, one of our users who just got done doing something really cool, got tangled up with one of the assholes from [3] /r/atheism and made some small mistakes that could have hurt our beleaguered reputation. So I gave him the righteous cussing out I usually apply to the worthless idiots who tell me that [4] /r/atheism has lost nothing but an opportunity for karma whoring.

I'm new at this job, and the pressures I face as being Public Enemy #1 to the many misguided morons who attack atheism have been compounded by being a mod on the refugee boat for the people all the rest of Reddit hates. Jumping ship from [5] /r/atheism wasn't enough, predictably - they want us destroyed completely. I'm sorry, but the extra pressure and responsibility are more than I can handle without the occasional giant fuck-up like this.

That's my problem, not the fault of our subscribers, and they shouldn't have to suffer me. [6] /r/atheismRebooted shouldn't have to make excuses for harboring someone who occasionally talks like a really pissed-off person. Reddit is overrun with people who love to torment us just for not believing in bullshit, and not taking any shit from those who do. The many, many assholes who congregate in [7] /r/MagicSkyFairy, [8] /r/CircleBroke, [9] /r/SubRedditDrama, recently in [10] /r/atheism and all the rest should not have the opportunity to say that atheists are horrible people, just because I sometimes share my anger and frustration with the world around me.

You can see where this is going. I see myself as having become a liability to atheism on Reddit. I'm sick and fucking tired of being pissed off every day. This situation is not healthy for me or my online friends. The rational thing to do is to quit, and that's what I'm doing. Yes, I quit.

Congratulations to the assholes - you know who you are. After three years of throwing shit and hatred and vitriol at me, you've pissed me off enough to drive me away. You've won against me.

But that won't help you, because atheism is winning. I will be replaced by younger, smarter, faster and more capable atheists. Smoother talkers, stronger debaters, more popular organizers, craftier politicians, better role models. Soon you'll be wishing you only had potty-mouthed old me to deal with. Atheists are going to eat your ass for lunch. I'm getting out of their way to give them room to wipe the floor with you.

I had lots of friends here, and I cherished your supportive comments and PMs. Thank you all so much! Thank you for trusting me. I'm packing it in but there are lots of other people who deserve your trust. Those who were around me the most, because I've never tolerated any bad people in my vicinity. Trust those people and you'll be OK. Atheism will be OK, and some day the USA will be OK. Faith is a horribly wrongheaded idea, hence I won't insult you by saying I have faith in you. But you've shown me your strengths, so I trust you. Thus: All my best wishes, and goodbye!

He will be missed, but remember, Atheists are going to eat your ass for lunch.

Source

Atheism community,

As you are no doubt aware, a great deal of consternation has been boiling over in the last few weeks regarding the leadership and direction of /r/atheism. Some of this has had to do with various personalities who were or are now in leadership positions, and some of this has had to do with content curation policies placed in effect in the midst of a tumultuous and controversial change in leadership.

Our focus, going forward, should be to create an open community that is representative of the kind of community we want to be, the kind of community that is effective at messaging and building strength in the secularist movement throughout the world. To that end, the leadership has discussed and developed a series of avenues for improvement.

While change is never easy, it's important to remember that as a default subreddit we have the responsibility of being the image of atheists around the world. As such, we have to be considerate of not just our own needs, but the needs of a practical, pragmatic, and effective ideological movement. We must work together to build a foundation of trust and innovation that continues to inspire future generations to ask questions and seek answers. We must be the people whose awe at the majesty of the universe inspires a continuing and unending quest to understand it for the betterment of all mankind.

Together, we have nearly-unlimited potential. Our community is at a crossroads, and we're faced with some important choices. We know that no matter what we choose, some will not be happy with the result. The new moderation team has discussed at great length—and often with heated debate—the correct course of action to take in focusing and growing this community in a way that is most beneficial to not just the people who are here already, but the people who will arrive in the months and years to come.

As such, we have developed a content curation and moderation policy in alignment with this vision. In order to ensure that the community isn't run from the top-down but rather as a grassroots movement with genuine energy, longtime /r/atheism community members and moderators juliebeen and kencabbit are currently vetting several Knights of New for adding to the team. These additions will be the people responsible for the majority of content management going forward. To that end, content guidelines have been developed and will be managed as follows:

1. Submissions must be directly atheism-related. This is a very broad approach, and does not exclude common submissions that have ties to atheism, such as overt discrimination against the LGBT community by folks mired in religious doctrine and dogma. However, each submission must have a direct and clear relation to atheism and/or secularism. General news can go in /r/news, political discussion in /r/politics, and gender/sexual minority interests in /r/ainbow. News, politics, and other discussions with an atheism connection are still welcome.

2. For-karma content must add value to the community. There are plenty of communities on reddit dedicated to the consumption and enjoyment of memes and rage comics, such as /r/AdviceAnimals and /r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu, respectively. There is even an atheist-specific place for comics over at /r/aaaaaatheismmmmmmmmmm and another for memes at /r/AdviceAtheists. Direct link submissions here, then, should contain valuable content that can't be found anywhere else. Such content should interest and inspire people. Images are not prohibited, but in order to cut down on karma mining and vote manipulation, we simply ask that you put them in a self post.

3. Following the Rules of Reddit is mandatory. Following Human Reddiquette is encouraged.

4. Meta posts should be limited to the weekly feedback thread. Policy discussion is welcome at any time in /r/AtheismPolicy. If you wish to discuss /r/atheism itself here, please do so in the weekly feedback thread managed by the moderators, in order to ensure that we don't miss important suggestions and comments that might otherwise get lost.

5. Bigots are unwelcome. Posts and comments, whether in jest or with malice, that consist of racist, sexist, or homophobic content, will be removed, regardless of popularity or relevance.

Paul Graham, the founder of Hacker News and one of Reddit's original investors, writes:

"The most dangerous thing for the frontpage is stuff that's too easy to upvote. If someone proves a new theorem, it takes some work by the reader to decide whether or not to upvote it. An amusing cartoon takes less. A rant with a rallying cry as the title takes zero, because people vote it up without even reading it.

Hence what I call the Fluff Principle: on a user-voted news site, the links that are easiest to judge will take over unless you take specific measures to prevent it."

While we know that changes in policy may affect the way a limited number of users use /r/atheism, we are still the same freethinking community, and these content guidelines are not intended to regulate thought or self-expression. We encourage you to continue to advance the interests of reason and science. Our policies set only the broadest guidelines to keep the link listing on-topic and relevant to the interests of the atheist community, which after all is the entire point of having a dedicated subreddit. Beyond that, we make no claims of authority to police your ideas.

All we ask is that when you post, Stop. Think. Atheism.

• "Christians have been trying for a long time to get rid of this sub-reddit, and with this mod policy change they've gotten the next best thing. Now, atheism doesn't seem so exciting or interesting and will seem as boring as their religion. They couldn't get rid of the sub-reddit but they could, through their constant whining and complaining about the sub-reddit, get it's hipness neutered. This way, in their view, people checking out the place won't be swayed as easily to the dark side.

Will I unsubscribe? No. But, only because I want Atheism to remain a default sub-reddit with it's posts making the front page of Reddit in general. It may be a more boring atheism than it was, but I still want it to get exposure to people, and keep pissing off Christians with it's presence."

• "r/atheism has an online reputation."

• "all that stuff was the reason i became an atheist. fuck this bullshit.

im just not that into the sub that saved my life anymore. it was the memes and the jokes that made me comfortable enough to accept my disbelief, and i dont think i would have been able to "come out" without them."

• "If the reputation of r/atheism is terrible it is because christians go all over the internet spreading that reputation to keep people away. Christians don't want people going to this sub-reddit, and will bad mouth it, subscribe and unsubscribe to make it look bad, and generally do whatever they can to keep people away from it."

• "I also think we are overlooking an important thing. young people age 13-19 would tend to gravitate to the memes and facebook screencaps. they are the next generation. where many of them used to be privy to seeing the crappy side of religion daily and formed their opinions based on it, now, we're probably influencing the 20-40 age group.

Well, we tried, the next generation might shift back to religious, the r/atheism of the past will be a myth that we will be nostalgic about in years to come."

• "I wouldn't be here posting this now without the ragecomics and Facebook screencaps and meme images. their humor brought me to the place where I could accept the criticism the more serious conversations threw at me.

I spent many a night compiling a folder full of images I called "theism" from here, which I still browse through from time to time when I get irritated by the people around me because of stupid things they say or do related to religion. I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm sure those laughs are very important to people."

• "but I still want it to get exposure to people, and keep pissing off Christians with it's presence."

• "Now it's just a bunch of news stories that makes it seem more like we're attacking individual "idiots" instead of the general misogynistic and racist religion itself.

People will come here and think: "Ah, it's okay that I'm christian as long as I'm not an asshole like that guy about it" without realizing what views they're really aligning themselves with. That's my opinion, anyway."

• "People are warned against it in church. This sub has got the church scared shitless their secret is finally out and the gravy train may soon be over. This is a war for them."

• "Mocking religion is one of the best tools we have to spread the ideas of atheism & reason. People don't like to have their ridiculous beliefs shoved in their face."

• "If the reputation of r/atheism is terrible it is because christians go all over the internet spreading that reputation to keep people away. Christians don't want people going to this sub-reddit, and will bad mouth it, subscribe and unsubscribe to make it look bad, and generally do whatever they can to keep people away from it."

• "I said to myself, " I'm Christian, but that shit cray" the more and more I started saying that, the more I realized I am not a Christian, but a logical thinker, and perhaps Christianity is not for people that think rationally."

• "I was raised a religious fundie. The earth was 6,000 years old, end of story. Why? Because the Bible said so, dammit dangit! I was sent to a private Christian school for twelve years. We barely did biology, and in Logic class, we were shown videos of a brilliant new apologist, better known today as the Banana Man[1] . I shit you not, we watched Banana Man in fucking Logic class. And the scary part is, my impressionable, still-developing 16-year-old brain was 100% convinced by this bullshit. And I was the valedictorian.

My point to all this is, religion grabs kids as soon as they exit the vag and begins to build walls around their minds. By the time they discover places like reddit, those minds are a fucking fortress. You can hurl all the Evolution, Physics, Astronomy, Geology, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Logic you want at those walls for years, and it may not even make a mark. I know, because I remember what it was like."

• "This is fascism right here. Our own little microcosm has developed fascism. I hope you're proud of yourself."

• "Thank you OP. You have put it beautifully. /r/atheism is (was) probably the single best deconversion entity on the internet. I still remember the Southpark meme stating "Hey this is a cool website. Aaaaaaaaaaaand I'm an atheist." - it describes exactly what /r/atheism is (was)."

• "How do you propose we overthrow them [The Mods]? Lenin always said a solid revolutionary plan was necessary for success"

• "Religion is silly. Period.

Any attempt to side-step that or draw attention away from that only legitimizes religion ultimately."

• "I didn't come here for thoughtful discussion. I can do that elsewhere; in real life and on the internet (such as /r/trueatheism). I came here because I wanted to laugh and share other people's experiences. Who cares the same stuff was posted more than once? Tons of people still enjoyed it. I probably won't frequent this site as much as I used to."

• "If this subreddit is not open and free, then I honestly don't see the point.

Socrates died for this shit and we're taking it too lightly."

• "Do you know why religion is so great at gathering followers? It meets them right where they are. People [on the internet at least] are generally lazy individuals who form online habits. Not everyone opens self posts for of a number of reasons:

They're new users and self posts are strange to them.

They're looking for a laugh and just want to browse images.

They sit in church on Sunday morning and looking at an image of Christpoher Hitchens with a genius quote is the only thing keeping them sane while the people around them babble in "tongues" and writhe on the floor.

We need a "come as you are" mentality, or the theists win. Deregulation needs to happen."

• "/r/magicskyfairy won."

We all know fundies can't even fathom the existence of brave rebels fighting against their theocrazy, let alone child geniuses who see through their lies. Let's see what happens when Baby Einstein tells his school's kindly security guard that he is in fact a strong beautiful atheist who don't need no phony gOD's blessing...

###I think I broke my school security guard.

I'm currently a senior in high school. I became atheist after reading the bible a couple of months ago. I began reading through the bible again to annotate the contradictory things inside because my sister doesn't believe it's contradictory. Now, when I enter school everyday we go through a metal detector. As I walked to school on Friday reading through the bible I placed my bag in the machine and then my bible, the security guard attending the machine saw my bible coming from the other side. She smiled at me and asked me:

"how far are you into it?" I told her that it was my second time reading it, her smile just got bigger. "oh, good to know we still have youth that will carry on the message of the lord and Jesus our savior." she said. I looked her straight in the eyes and smiled. "miss, I'm atheist." I told her. her smile quickly turned into a frown. It looked as though she was about to punch me, her eye even twitched a little. I just left her there standing with a grin on my face and I walked upstairs to my class. I think I broke something inside her, I feel like a dick now.

sauce

In the recent tirade of anti /r/atheism[1] circle-jerking that's become the new fad around Reddit, I've been dissapointed at seeing that /r/atheism[2] is actually starting to take it seriously. So this is a call out to all free-thinkers and secularists: do not mince your words. Does the rest of Reddit respect the beliefs of Islamic extremists? Of Fox-news watchers? Of Illuminati conspiracists? Of Psychics? Of Holocaust-deniers? Does Reddit call for respecting Scientology? So then why the hypocrisy? Why raise a pitchfork at those of us who poke the same fun at a class of people who are just as irrational and scientifically unfounded as any of the above? Don't hold back. We've faced thousands of years of persecution and continue to do so as the most hated minority on this planet. If the religious are too sensitive to deal with our frustration, then that's their problem. I will never respect the beliefs of a lunatic. And that is my right.

And right you are, brave knight jaredpothead.

Cosmic sailors, prepare for the longest voyage we've ever undertaken. If you push yourselves to the end of this journey, past the seven levels of the Strawman Kingdom, through the sea of swirly twirly "shoutouts," and through the Logic Tunnel, you will find yourself at Bravery Island, where the science Spirits of all great gaytheists bask in the euphoria of Athe's presence.

So pack up your cheetos and your Mountain Dew, comb your neckbeard, and kiss your mother goodbye.

We're going on an adventure...

Enough is enough. It's time to stop playing pretend. I'm atheist; she isn't.

Last night we went out to her parents house to color Easter Eggs. Because why not color eggs to celebrate the rising of your savior!? That's perfect logic and don't question it! Anyhow... As we were coloring I was ranting about stuff that I think is awesome and what I want to see happen in my lifetime. I am on a total space kick lately because I have been playing Kerbal Space Program a bunch. I was saying how I want to see a probe go to Europa because of the liquid water under the surface that has been there for millions of years and wherever there is water there is usually life. (Shout out to NDT)! We then joked about how "The Little Mermaid" is actually on Europa. Hahaha awesome.

This is when her father said, "Isn't it funny how you are talking about this stuff when we are celebrating Easter?" Me: "What does Easter have to do with any of this?" Dad: "All your science stuff..."

You can probably guess where this is leading...

Anyhow I let it go and moved on coloring my Easter eggs. Whatever.

Fast forward 20 minutes and we get to talking about the pictures on the wall of their family and their respective portraits. Girl's little sister has a dike haircut when she was younger so they start making fun of her for it. I join in saying "You know, they are fighting for you right now in the Supreme Court so you could one day get married." She laughs and says yeah I know! (Not getting the joke though).

Queue the Mom: "Timmy, you aren't one of those people supportive the gays are you?"

Me: "Of course I am. You aren't one of those people that is about to tell me that it is wrong because it is in the Bible are you?"

Huge conversation bursts. It is now her dad, mom, sister, and some dude I just meant that is friends with her little sister (about 16), against me while the girl I love sits by quietly. She didn't have an opinion on this matter anyhow.

I couldn't believe it. I was sitting there having a fucking conversation about this. I didn't think it was possible for these people to actually exist. And here they were all along, right in front of me. Saying all the terrible things we've been reading the past couple of days.

They of course went on to asking about why I am an atheist, and had a huge discussion about that started. You know the typical stuff that we all see on here? Well, imagine all of that facebook bullshit, but hearing it from the people you love, (and some 16-year old know-it-all boy).

The evolution crap: "Why isn't there any evidence for evolution? It hasn't been proven! It's just a theory!" Me: You keep using that word...theory...like it is insulting. Theory is the graduation day and is its highest honors. Read a book on evolution." "No it isn't! There's not even one piece of evidence for evolution. Where are the bones for it all? Where is the half man-half monkey bones?" Me: "Those don't exist! If we found them, then it would completely disprove evolution! And there are museums full of fossil records. The evidence is enormous and proven!"

It was seriously, this conversion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBHEsEshhLs&list=PL7420408E36541DA4&index=18

The part in that video where he goes "FFS" and almost starts crying out of rage and frustration because no matter what you say nothing is being heard; that was me last night.

Well, I started to get angry and went on the attack. No more Mr. Nice Atheist. It is time to knock out this God Delusion. (Shout out to Dawkins)! Mom: "Well what if your kid came home and told you he is gay?" (Hypothetical-I don't have kids) Me: "I would be completely fine. In fact I will submit to you that I would rather have my child come home gay than a Christian. That is how much I despise your religion, how much I wish it didn't exist. You guys all think you are all moral but damn me because I don't believe. That's not morality. That's not justice." Me: "Tell me if your god is so moral (sarcastically), why would this all powerful-being that created the universe, that can do anything, right?, allow an innocent child to be raped? Me: "He surely knows it will happen, and can do something to intervene so why doesn't he!?!? 16YO: "I don't know. Why don't you ask him? Anyway, you said that if God interfered with our lives, it wouldn't be free will and a dictatorship!"
Me: "I don't care about any of that. If there is something that could prevent a child from being raped, I want that something or someone to help that child!" 16YO: "...." Me: That's the difference between me and your god! If I was knowing a rape was happening, I would do everything in my power to prevent this rape from happening even if it meant risking my life. I would not sit by thinking it's all part of the plan and perfectly justified. That's why I am more moral than your god! That's why your god does not deserve my worship! And that is why your god is something that if existed, I would fight against with all of my being! (Shout out to TAE)!

All "......."

After a long pause, the Mom broke the silence by saying the experience that makes her think there is a god trying to ease the tension. It worked, because I made my points, and I was done.

I sat there for a while after we all finished talking. The kid and the little sister were still talking and I could hear him dancing around like a pigeon who just won at chess. Saying how he disproved everything I said with evidence (the Bible). Obv.

The whole time the conversation was happening my girl was sitting there listening. We have had conversations like these before, but she doesn't know as much. She doesn't have an argument and usually just says "You will have to talk to someone like a priest because I don't have all the answers."

It was last night that I realized just how my family would look if I continued the relationship with this woman. I thought of my kids going to see grandma and grandpa, and they would tell them all about god. I can hear my wife telling our kids about Jesus and me being like, "Just like Santa Claus!" and a huge fight breaking out.

Religion poisons everything...(shout out to Hitchens)! It has poisoned our relationship. It is poisoning her family's minds and causing them to be huge fucking bigots but still think they are on the side of morality. I can't deal with that. I'm running as far away as possible from that.

It really sucks though, and really hurts. I have spent six years with this woman. Wanted to marry this woman. I'm 25, buying a house, and am a computer programmer. I got my shit together. I was ready. Ready to start a life. Now, she's texting me right now still, and I'm not replying. I'm done.

Thanks for letting me rant and reading my story. I don't really feel all that much better, but it is good to get this anger out. Time for a new chapter in my life. I'm going to work on me for a while. Start getting used to the single life, being along, and all that. I don't want to hurt a girl because my heart is still broken and she gets cut on the shards. Once that's all glued back together, then I'll put myself back out on the market. Until then, time for some deep self-reflection.

TL;DR? Fuck you. Go read it. I spent the first hour of my job writing this story for you! :-P

Edit: Why did I break up with my gf when this is what the family did? She sat there. We've tried to have this discussion before, but she doesn't know how to say what she is thinking like her family does. She looks to her family for guidance on religion and 100% agrees with everything they were saying that night. Her sitting there was her watching her family have the argument that she never could verbalize, and hoping they win. In my rant, I didn't think about explaining this; more or less was just describing what happened last night.

Edit2: Thanks for the support from those that supported (and for whoever gave me gold. That's awesome)! :)

Those calling me the same as the Christians I "despise" are incorrect, and I think these two comments say it all:

Fathermithras 2 points 11 minutes ago Wrong. Absolutely, undeniably wrong. Like he said, what if he has a gay child? She agrees with her parents on homosexuality, and would do psychological harm to their child because of that. Religious values effect a person's actions, and how they will raise children. if you can tolerate someone's religion, but don't want it impressed on your future children, it can absolutely be a good reason to break up. What if someone believes women should be covered head to toe? Or shouldn't have an equal say in the household? I get the idea. We should respect each other's beliefs and love is more important. But that's a fairytale idea. Not real life.

BakerBitch 2 points 3 minutes ago Breaking up with someone for any reason is a good reason, isn't it? If you're not happy with someone, you really don't have to validate your leaving to anyone but yourself.

Bingo! In the end, this happy relationship has turned into a sad one; one filled with anger toward each other. It goes both ways. If she read reddit, you would probably see a huge rant in /Christianity or something and huge upvotes for her there haha. I have my Mom to deal with right now, and getting her to see that "she didn't fail." And that she can love someone that is an atheist. (She said, "I just can't love someone who calls themselves an atheist. Our relationship hasn't been the same since. Then she bring ups my deceased father and how sad he would be). Then I have my brother and his family to worry about with his crazy mother-in-law that is trying to take away HIS kids from my "devil worshiping" atheist brother. I don't need this drama in my life and i don't need another ignorant-bible thumping family in my life! Why is is it really that hard to understand?

Edit 3: To put it into perspective, this has been coming since five months ago. We've had talks about religion before. I've asked her "Which is more important, you're love for me or your religion?" Religion was and STILL IS the answer. This has been coming for a long time. She broke up with me then for my atheism but we got back together for the holidays and didn't break up again.

Another thing: apparently I am a cunt. Haha That's great. You say this because of the way I came off on here. Well, fuck off if you take yourself so seriously on reddit. It's a place on the Internet where memes are placed and where people say "Dear Diary, today OP was not a fag." and then talk about how terrible it is when someone holds a sign that says "God hates fags!" It's a place to kick back and have fun thus my writing style. I come here to laugh and see some funny shit. To see that there aren't just Christians in this world and people that do think like I do. If I wanted a serious discussion I would have gone somewhere else. I wanted to rant, show some people the bigots I am dealing with, and laugh about it later. This isn't a term paper. It's reddit. Ease off and get all that stress out of your lives. In the end that's what I am doing.

And the shout outs... Go watch some Rooster Teeth. They're hilarious! LEEEEEEEEET'S PLAAAY! (Shout out to Ray)!

I hope this is the final edit: Someone stated that it is like me going into a Muslim family and talking about suicide bombers. Almost. What if the people agree with the suicide bombers and say they are morally justified? Then what? Remain silent? Respect their beliefs? I have been in this household and have had many debates with the family over the years in politics. It was just started out as another political debate: can gays get married, which they asked me about. I gave the short version of the story so it wasn't a novel with chapters and a table of contents. It started with Constitutional rights and all that then the Bible was brought up and then the separation of Church and State by me. Then the country "being founded on Christianity" and me telling them, no it actually wasn't. So then they went on the offensive with me being atheist. I tried to laugh it off and makes jokes, but the kept asking so I kept answering.

Secondly, it looks as though I just ended a relationship after six years. I didn't, and I blame my lack of writing skills for that oversight in this post. Should I have put my life story in this rant instead? I'll try to remember that next time... I have been trying hard to make things work with her. People here keep talking about compromise, and I have compromised. She has told me "I will not marry you if you are an atheist." When asked why she said, "I don't want my children being raised atheist. I want them raised Christian." After a couple months of talking about it, I broke on the matter and compromised. I said, "Ok. If we get married, I will go to Church with you, I will pray with you at the dinner table, we can have our children baptized, and when they ask about what I believe, I will tell them that it is a tough subject that they will have to struggle with to find the truths their entire lives. If this is what will make you happy then this is what I want for us." Her reply? "But it wouldn't be real..."

So I tried to make it work. And I suppose that's my own fault for not portraying that. Her family's homophobia is what drew me over the line. ("Now I see where she gets this religious mindset from" I thought). So I am not afraid to tell them they are wrong for being bigots. I told them how shocked I was, and disappointed that they held such beliefs. But I'm just a cunt. Whatever reddit. Keep posting your memes.

Long-lost map to Bravery Island, pried from the skeleton of Captain Hitchens himself.

Greetings cosmo[logical] sailors of science. Today we set sail for the oceans of oppression, and anyone who doesn't like it can "fuck off".

Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/kmbfl9e.png

Permalink: http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/1abmbq/dear_ratheism_bashers/

On February 20, 2013, a facebook post made its way onto /r/atheism's front page. But this was no ordinary example of social network pwnage. This was, seemingly, the calling sign for the bravest professional quote-makers /r/atheism has to offer. For the comments section contains some of their finest literary works, as our more youthful logicians would call them, 'le gems'. These quotes are far too valuable to go unnoticed, so here they are, forever preserved in the Halls of Sagan.

im sick and tired of a bunch of spineless pussies acting like we are not on the defensive end of a cultural war here. we were not the ones who started pushing our personal beliefs into the public sphere. what theists in this country are doing is wrong, and even the level headed ones support ignorant and prejudiced policies like pro life and homophobia. so any time christian says something and we mock or argue their point, it isnt being a douche, it is doing our duty. when they learn to keep their poisonous bullshit in their homes and churches, then we can treat them with something above tolerance.

killedtheoldme

My heart bleeds for you. If you cannot apply logic (probably for the sake of your own need for drama), that is your problem, not mine.

ikinone

It is hard not to be condescending to someone who is so far below you intellectually.

ikinone

Every time someone ignores doctors and praises their favorite imaginary being I can't help but think of all the children that have died specifically because of their parent's religious beliefs that either denied them life-saving medical treatments like blood transfusions, or because they thought they could pray it away if only they tried hard enough.

crankybadger

Giving God credit is disrespectful and rude. If you're the kind of person that won't call someone out on that kind of behavior, that's fine. If I see someone who's just trying to do their job being mistreated by a patron or a customer, I'll call them out on it.

crankybadger

While I totally agree with you, no fucking with death/cancer/family... why was I supposed to be "ok" with people "comforting" me with tales of god, the bible and an afterlife when my mother passed from cancer? People signed a sympathy card and literally wrote things like, "God is watching over her" and "She's waiting for you in heaven" I'd never been so insulted in my life, and yet I was forced to grin and bear it lest I be the douchebag...

yourmansconnect. Reading this quote, I could not help but be reminded of juliebeen's bravery.

Their prayers are tied to jihads and crusades. [...] They are also tied to not giving contraception to victims of rape, not giving live saving treatment because it might kill the fetus (both mother and fetus died), and there is a very long list of what their prayers are tied to.

corwin1681

It's christianity as a whole that is the problem. And being a dick doesn't compare to the fact that even today atheists are discriminated. If someone did say that to me I would just laugh at them. She probably did the same thing because she's wrapped up in her own little world. You're just an overly sensitive cock gobbling pussy. They believe in the illogical and deserve to be mocked as such. No one is persecuting them, just mocking because it's pathetic to believe in such nonsensical fantasies.

nofatchicksever

I really don't see howafter many people have worked constantly trying to save a man's life and someone attributes all of their hard work to a myth, you guys get pissed off at the person that calls them on it. He hasn't said anything offensive and he hasn't explicitly stated that the believer's god doesn't exist. Most of the people who frequent r/atheism are moderates who will call out someone who makes a genuinely offensive facebook comment. Perhaps you guys should find something better to rage at. How about the people that burn children as witches due to their religion?

Wiiboy95

This brave faithsmasher wrote a free-form poem about his eye-opening moment of euphoria. Sometimes, atheism isn't about cold logic. Sometimes, it's about heart.

Rain was falling and so was i. On the back seat of bus, i sat looking out a window, watching rain paint the

asphalt. The streets were beautiful and new, untainted and clean. Rain had a way of doing that.

Ever wish you could be in a place where the rain fell at the end of each day to wash away dust and grime, guilt

and fear? The kind of rain that smells sweet and makes the sky look like a scenic painting, and it practically

begs you to stand perfectly still in the middle of the road while it pours over your skin. the kind that makes you

want to stop and stand perfectly still and soak yourself to the bone and you shiver and smile at the same time?

The rain battered the side of the dirty bus window, and we came to a stop outside the mosque. i could see

crowds of people that were ostensibly similar to me. people that were once connected with me, through a God

to whom, now- I had renounced my faith. once i had been impressed by our closeness, the undeniable strength

of our unity. now i was struck by the gigantic gaps between us. Parted by ideological differences.They would

welcome me with open arms should i choose to walk inside, unaware that my every breath was a contradiction

to their beliefs.

I lived in defiance, they’d say, my existence was an insult to the master of the universe, i was rebelling

against my creator. Maybe a few years ago i was worthy of paradise, but, big brother knows, big brother knows

the thoughts inside my head, and now im headed straight for fire and brimstone. Its strange though, nothing

about me had changed, my actions are still the same, and as for my thoughts, are they not just a product of my

experiences?

i guess it didnt matter, i wanted to leave, I had no desire to be here, but the light at the intersection was still

red, and so i was forced to sit in a stand still, only a few feet away but still looking from

the outside in, We are all human beings, with conflicting ideals. polar opposites, ice and fire, separated by a

glass panel affixed to 10 tonnes of metal. there was a magic to it, like the window had been imbued with a spell

and become a lens into another world, and so i pressed my nose against the cold wet glass and watched. i

watched mobs of men and women fraught with religious intent, rushing to their respective entrances, males to

the front, women to the back,…two sets of doors on opposite sides, segregated by the will of God. The men

wore religious caps , solemnly hiding hair that had been blown into a mess by winds of sin, & the women

guarded themelves with veils like an aegis against what they supposed was a sexually unrestrained world… A

sea of caps and scarves were climbing a steep hill that led to the front doors, cutting each other off in order to

reach God more quickly, flailing limbs and sprinting past their brethren so as not to miss a word of God’s

commands, and so it had become,that in their quest for Godliness, they had left humanity behind.

The rain fell steadily faster, coating the glass wih rain drops that raced each other to the bottom. people had

begun sprinting up the hill to avoid the cold wet sting of the rain, it soaks the Muslims and slicks the road for

Christians driving by, the Hindus turn on their wipers, and it fills the streets and batters against bus windows.

unlike God, Rain is indifferent to belief. it is felt by everything. Thats the thing about rain.

the rain fell so tumultuously that it seemed to create ripples in bus window , Making the outside world look

like it was drowning, the people who were climbing the sloped entrance to the mosque were struggling up its

wet muddy surface, almost swimming up the hill that had now become a sort of ocean. I wondered what they

thought they’d find on the other side, they didn’t seem all that aware of their actions, Prostrating like robots.

Just driven to swim but barely floating amidst the waters of consciousness, acquiescing to the tides, letting

themselves be pushed and pulled & hoping to wash up on the shores of absolution, but I guess nobody’s journey

is easy. we’re all lost at sea, some of us are lucky enough to understand. it took a while, I don’t know how long

I drifted, floating on my stomach and dreaming of salvation, but eventually I awoke, to cacophony of crashing

waves and broken covenants, but promises of something even greater. I found myself leaving the sea behind

and had new life in me. so many people still find themselves in an infinitely uphill battle, but I had been freed.

I had dared to think for myself. I stepped off the bus, ready to walk back home, but before that, i stood in the

rain and let it soak me to the bone,.and watched rainbows being painted across the sky, the light turned green,

the bus rolled on ahead, and I shivered and I smiled - all at the time - and I was so happy, to have found my

way. Edited for spacing

Strong, then feel, my brothers.

Strong. Then feel.

Epic PWNAGE Sauce

So, I'm an atheist and pretty liberal regarding most areas of politics.

My mother-in-law is a Baptist, and super conservative on all issues.

Well, we got into a discussion about illegal immigrants, and the topic of them using our hospitals for free came up.

She was arguing that our hospitals should not treat illegal immigrants (which I agree with to an extent). So I asked, "What if it is an emergency? What if a Mexican got into a severe car wreck and was going to die?"

To which she replied, "Let him die. He shouldn't have been here."

Honestly, I was quite shocked. "You would just let him die?"

"Yep."

At this point I'm heated enough to drop some of my reservations, and said, "I thought you were a Christian."

"I am a Christian!", she said.

"So, you'd stand there before Jesus and tell the paramedics 'leave him, he didn't belong here anyway'. Do you think Jesus would care that the guy was from Mexico?"

Well, that's when she started crying. I felt kind of bad that I upset her... but I think she needed to understand how big of a hypocrite she was.

P.S.

My wife isn't mad at me... anymore.

EDIT

For the record: My mother-in-law is a kind and generous person for the most part. She's quite opinionated and headstrong, and usually isn't afraid to butt heads on a few issues. We disagree on a lot of things, but we actually get along quite well. This post might make her sound kind of vile, but I really don't think she meant what said... that is, she wouldn't actually sit there and let someone die.

As for why she started crying, I'm not entirely sure, because we haven't brought up politics or religion since this conversation. But this is the best hypothesis I've heard: Here.

EDIT

Thank you for the Reddit Gold Grumpy_Kong! :-D

You're awesome!

His intelligent, logical, reasonable and brave pwnage of us old mother-in-law earned him some well deserved Reddit Gold™

####BONUS!!!

Those are tears of cognitive dissonances. (+1428 -Reddit Gold)

####SUPER SAGAN BONUS!!!!

I'm making my wife read what you just wrote. (+447)

Cosmic Sailors,

I bring to you today a compilation of poignant, insightful, scientific, and courageous comments made by one sailing far ahead in the great cosmic regatta that is our existence.

Please, live beholden of his glory.

well that was fun. do you understand now? that your idea of sensitivity to others beliefs and accepting them for who they are does not extend to anyone that disagrees with you? that EVERYONE in this whole thread that argued against this picture is doing EXACTLY what you all claim you are against? that op was right about it being a lot easier to coexist without all the bullshit clouding everything and CAUSING conflict where there doesn't need to be any?

Source

coexist is about being sensitive about other peoples beliefs and accepting them for who they are.

but fuck me. i don't get sensitivity from anyone. as a straight, white, male, atheist i would like to have at least something i am allowed to feel good about without some "sensitive" person calling me hateful. and for the record, being sensitive to "their" beliefs is what got us into this problem in the first place.

Source

you people are really starting to piss me off. fucking read what i typed and quit making stupid shit up. and while you are sitting there on your high horse of super hypocritical bigotry and self-righteousness, think about how much of an asshole you are being.

coexist is about being sensitive about other peoples beliefs and accepting them for who they are.

but fuck me. i don't get sensitivity from anyone. as a straight, white, male, atheist i would like to have at least something i am allowed to feel good about without some "sensitive" person calling me hateful.

and gee look at all the fucking sensitive people calling me hateful for being who and what i am. just like i said! where are all the people being sensitive to my beliefs and accepting me for who i am? this isn't about me. its about YOU!

Source

and there it is. hey everyone!!! look at the sensitivity I'm getting!!! and i don't get blamed for everything at all. I'm such an asshole for existing.

Source

In response to darqwolf copypasta...

instead of your life history (which i read and related to in many ways) i would be much more interested in seeing what you consider the assholish behavior you speak of so i know what i am supposed to be replying to. i will assume that this is about my "hate crimes" and respond to that. please read what i actually typed and don't make up some stupid crap like the rest have done.

this is what was said:

coexist is about being sensitive about other peoples beliefs and accepting them for who they are.

and this is how i responded:

but fuck me. i don't get sensitivity from anyone. as a straight, white, male, atheist i would like to have at least something i am allowed to feel good about without some "sensitive" person calling me hateful.

note that i am not really good at articulating my thoughts coherently but i do reread everything several times before posting. to me, what i think i said was "i KNOW that being a straight, white, male is not something that society will allow me to be proud of, but sense atheism is one area that i do have control over and it is something that i do honestly feel proud of, i SHOULD be allowed to feel good about it."

**i honestly would like to have something that i am allowed to feel good about without some sensitive person calling me hateful. ** and after posting that, i was flooded with "sensitive" people hating on me for being who and what i am. PROVING MY POINT EXACTLY! where is all this sensitivity you all keep talking about? when do you plan on respecting my beliefs and accepting me for who i am? am i immune to coexistence because i was born this way?

as for being straight white male, i NEVER once said that i had problems because of it. i never once said i was being oppressed or discriminated against because of it. hell, i never even said i disagreed with it. but my oh my was i prejudiced and bigoted against today! i honestly thought i was being trolled hard. and now i get to read your life story and see you call me an asshole for trying to explain this 50 times while everyone goes through every post i ever made and downvotes it all. so yeah, i'm a bit upset. so maybe i was not seeing any of this sensitivity and did not give any out. maybe i was a bit rude to people being rude to me. maybe i was desperately tying to tell people that they were doing to me what they were accusing me of doing and how hypocritical they were being.

note: skin color, sexual preference, and gender are things that i have no control over and i do not fully understand why anyone would be proud of them, but i accept that some people are proud of these things and while they are not only allowed to be proud of them they are encouraged to display them and highlight them as exceptional qualities. everyone EXCEPT the majority of the population, that is) people in the majority should feel ashamed for being who they are and what they are even tho we have no more control over these things than anyone else does? really? this is what they call sensitivity? it's not about me, it's about you(generally not you specifically)

Source

not revealing any personal information to the contrary aside, you have been prejudiced against me this whole time. you keep saying i have serious mental problems and and have never had anyone do anything bad to me ever and you know nothing about me. you are my problem. you are persecuting me for stating the obvious. i am not allowed by society to be in any way proud about being white. i had no control over that and don't see why anyone would be proud of their skin color. but if i ever did say i was proud of being white, hatred from all sides. i am not allowed by society to be in any way proud of being male because doing so would make me "a sexist pig" and hatred from all sides. i am not allowed by society to be in any way proud of being heterosexual. you get the point yet? but, dammit, i am an atheist and that is something that i actually did on my own free will and something that i am actually proud of and fuck all you haters for trying to tell me i should be ashamed of it and let the little god-people have their way. if you had read my first post in this thread instead of just assuming that you are righteous and i am scum from hell, you would have seen that i did not say that i had any problem with being a straight white male other than the shit that people like you give me if i ever tried to be in any way proud of these things.

i am a straight white male atheist and i would like to have something that i am allowed to be proud of. obviously the first 3 are off the table so let me have this one thing. throw some of that elusive sensitivity this way and respect my beliefs for once.

Source

PS - Lowercase g

http://i.imgur.com/KGxIc.png

An r/atheism original courtesy of:

http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/15p2zt/my_son_is_pretty_awesome/

"It's weird that so many kids believe in santa. Poor kids get pretty much nothing, but the kids with rich parents get more crap they don't need. If santa existed, he'd be fair.

Kinda like god. People believe in him, but he's like the poor kid's santa in the countries where kids are starving & dying every day. I don't get why people think the way they do."

Logic is strong in this one

NukeThePope takes an uncompromising stand against oppression. While not dedicated to the pursuit of Science, his principled plateau of Enlightenment elevates all humans in their quest for Knowledge. So, here are some choice quotes for the great halls. Sail On, brave champions of logic.

I'm vicariously angry on your behalf. I would love to be in your situation so I could have an opportunity to destroy your wife's pastor. Let me tell you about my plan of attack!

First, it's him who has to account himself, not you.

Start by drawing out of him what the most important element of Christianity is. No, it's not "love your neighbor." That's bullshit. Your daughter already loves your neighbor, she wouldn't need to come to church to be taught that. Hint: What are the first 4 Commandments about? Who says, "nobody comes to the father except through me?" Right, there is nothing, literally nothing in the world as important as believing in Jesus. Because believing or not believing makes the difference between an eternal afterlife of bliss or an eternity of torture.

Since faith is the most important thing of all, a sincere Christian values it above everything else - even his own life or that of others. Don't take my word for this! Augustine and Aquinas, two of the most influential philosophers of Christianity, used this very principle to argue that faith - or lack of it - justified torturing and killing heretics. Martin Luther wrote that a lie for the good of the Church is justified.

If the pastor is sincere about his belief in his religion, then that religion means more to him than truth, freedom from pain or the life of your daughter. You'd have to be crazy to entrust her to a monster like him. And if he's insincere, what kind of role model does he provide? She doesn't need indoctrination from a pious hypocrite.

Source

I've explained why, if he's a serious Christian, he's a monster by the standards of sane, intelligent people. It's not my goddamn problem that you are part of neither group. Just fuck off!

What you're telling me is that you're too fucking stupid to gain any insight from my explanation. You didn't have to do that, I knew it before.

If you have so much better arguments, why don't you present them instead of just stopping by to dump a load of shit on what others do? Because shit is all you've got and shit is all you are.

The truth, when I express it bluntly, bothers you - that's why you kick up such outrage. If you hadn't been raised to be a dishonest hypocrite you wouldn't be such a god-awful pain in the ass.

Source

I am a theist,

Oh fuck, that explains a lot. Why you're a hypocrite, why you're a pain in the ass and why you're so fucking stupid. My sympathies.

I'm interested in letting that terrorist piece of shit know that he doesn't have the moral high ground, much to the contrary. I'm interested in letting him know why it's a bad idea to entrust gullible young people to him. I'm interested in the OP making it clear that he's not one of the gullible sheep cowed by the misplaced respect for religion. I'm interested in the OP being able to stand up and face himself in the mirror every morning for having clearly stated his convictions and not kowtowed to some asshole who thinks his ordination makes him a decent human being. I'm interested in his daughter growing up free of the shackles that darken the youths of entire generations with fear and guilt, and have turned you into a bleating and mindless sycophant and apologist. I am, first and foremost, interested in ending the twenty centuries of terror that Christianity has brought to the world.

You, meanwhile, are worried about my tone. Well, each to the limits of his horizon, eh?

Source

Why do you insist on insulting the OP, you worthless piece of shit? Did you catch the fact that he's an atheist? That means he has a mind of his own, and is capable, unlike you, of making his own decisions. Given the smorgasboard of options we have presented him with, he doesn't need a brain-damaged sheep telling him which option to pick. Do you have such an overwhelming problem with the ideas of freedom and choice that you can't resist the urge to jump in and make up other peoples' minds for them? This is one of countless reasons why I detest vermin like you. Everything about your world view is a perversion of human values.

Damn, unravelling all your duplicitous bullshit is a full time job. I suspect this is all for naught too, because you're hopelessly mentally broken and nobody else is still following this conversation.

The OP asked for suggestions on questions he could ask the pastor. The guy is a professional bullshitter, so any softball questions would leave the pastor in a position where he could haul out a William Lane Craig style rebuttal and leave the OP feeling badly about himself and his wife losing respect for him and encouraged to badger him even more about church shit. A promising alternative is to ask the pastor a question he does not have a ready answer for because it strikes deeper than the stuff that theists enjoy talking about. From the depth of my experience, I assembled an attack on the pastor's morality, which is after all at the very root of our problem with his religion. It's honest and if pursued with the necessary conviction it has a reasonable chance of success.

Of course that's exactly why you're so butthurt. You're here to shield the tender sensitivities of that child-terrorizing liar and parasite of American society. Sorry, not on my watch!

My question wasn't even particularly disrespectful. The problem is, what's a respectful way to tell someone that his moral values an abomination in the eyes of rational humans and a significant contribution to human suffering all over the world? He makes a living on enslaving people to a stack of horrible, degrading myths. He convinces people that the "truths" delivered to faith trump the truths that humans have discovered by hard work, observation and reason, thereby degrading the entirety of human intellectual effort. My point is that this person should not be respected, any more than you'd respect someone who clubs baby seals or feeds live kittens to hungry dogs.

I point this out to the OP and to you because, unlike you, I value the truth. As a Christian, you've long been taught to treat the truth like a whore, abusing, twisting and discarding it as it suits the purpose of the greater glory of your abominable church. Truth means nothing to you because you were brought up on lies.

Imagine the win if the OP could expose the pastor's dangerous immorality, and could walk out on the ratty little bastard arm in arm with his no-longer-enthralled wife! Imagine if this family could grow to appreciate reason over the putrid fear-and-death cult his wife subscribes to. Imagine the pastor closing down his smelly little church and taking up honest work for the first time in his life. Imagine people taking pride in their own accomplishments rather than praying to a corpse on a plank. Oh right, you can't - your mind has been ruined for heavy lifting. While you're rooting for the OP to participate in a lifelong lie, I'm rooting for him to gain freedom not just for himself but his whole family. Again, horizons. You enjoy living in an intellectual cave. If you weren't such a turd I'd feel pity for you.

Source

I have no strife with you so if I'm offending you please be assured it's not intentional. That I'm ahead of you on the ladder of cultural progress is hardly my own achievement but owed to geography, my circumstances and age. Any smugness on my part is simple human weakness.

I'm an arrogant dick because I'm smarter and more knowledgeable than you. Sucks to be you, doesn't it? Try as you may, you won't pull me down to your level of stupidity and ignorance. If I may be so bold, I'd like to suggest investing your energy into getting a clue instead.

Ahoy logic sailors. Today we bring you the wisdom of Aesop, the plays of Plato, Aristotle, Socrats [sic] and Shakespeare, and the scientists who advanced our world and the kings and emperors who conquered it. I know we've been in the fundie doldrums of darkness lately, but now I believe the breath of Sagan will carry us to braver, and more logical lands.

Link

My father raised me with the wisdom of Aesop the slave, and the writings of the Great Books. The plays of Plato, Aristotle, Socrats and Shakespeare were my bedtime stories. I was built on the foundation of the great artists of the Renaissance and Romantic ages, the scientists who advanced our world and the kings and emperors who conquered it. By the time I was twelve I had read Steinbeck, Orwell, Machiavelli, Sun Tsu, Carnegie, and Hammurabi. My father taught me to live in the wild. He taught me how to tie knots, clean kills, start fires and build shelter. My father taugh me to survive in the wild of society, how to save money, spend frugally, buy wisely and invest in education. My father was strict, but his strictness made me disciplined. He pushed me had, because he knew I was capable of more than I thought I was. My father supported me when I needed help, counciled me when I needed advice and pushed me from the nest when I needed to fly. Among those things, he tried to raise me with religion. But I didn't need a freudian surrogate-father in god. I had one in the front room, drinking a beer, listening to the Bears game and tossing me yet another history book. I didn't need someone to spend three days on a cross, I had someone put up with me for 18 years. I had a father who stuck with my mom, in a world where 50% of marriages end in divorce. My dad literally worked his hands to the bone for my family. His days in my childhood would run for 12 hours more often than not. My dad is all the god I need. Edit Spelling. Edit 2 Front page of Atheism. Schway. Go tell your parent/role model/ individual responsible for helping you be who you are today that you love them. Even if you disagree with their religion. You know, unless their religion has really made life worse for you. If that's the case, talk about it here. Let's spread some positive atheism guys and girls.

Hello Saganauts. Today we drop anchor for maximum Facebook pwnage. Enjoy!

Image

Link

Listen you fuckfaces. All your FU comics won't mean shit unless you go vote this November. If you don't want the Tea Party to turn America to turn into the next backwards-ass Middle East, make sure you actually do something for once instead of imitating an amoeba. Ramen.

This, brave sailors of the seas of Reason, is the tidal wave of human actualization washing ashore to bring Reason to all.

Hi [1] /r/atheism

I've been a lurker on the site for about a week and have registered an account to post my gratitude for this place existing. I'm from Birmingham, Alabama, a city in the bible belt with an extremely high Christian population. Homosexuality and God forbid Atheism, will get you verbally abused or worse turn you into a bloody corpse. Although we are making progress now it's incredibly slow and disheartening that so many Atheists and Gays are oppressed in this state.

All my life here I've been told by my Parents, Friends and Church that I should never question what the bible says. It was the ultimate authority and I happily wallowed in the shit like an oblivious puppy. This wasn't a problem for me until I hit puberty and went to junior high. I didn't have many friends but the ones I had were all staring at Girls like they were some sort of treasure. I just didn't get the attraction, though I noticed some of the guys.

There was one boy there called Tom, who was in the school swimming team. He and I worked on a project in English class together. Anyways after class one day I did the stupidest thing. I leant in and kissed him. He looked at me in shock, and then shock turned to disgust. He stormed out of the room. When I came back to school the next day everyone was whispering I was a faggot. Tom had told his friends about the event and they turned to mocking me, calling me awful homophobic slurs. I really felt like I deserved it though. I hated myself and felt God would send me to hell.

Hell is not something Children should even know about, but because of ReLIEgion it gets a free pass. It's a cruel, psychopathic place and yet we tell children all about it - and that a magic man you can't see can save you from it. Remind me again why this stuff isn't fantasy or the ramblings of a mentally insane man. Simply because these myths are institutionalized, people take them seriously.

Anyways after the week of constant teasing at School, I looked at Barnes and Noble at the mall, and saw a display for a book called 'The God Delusion'. This wasn't hidden away in the back like some sort of contraband. In the midst of the theocracy that is my state, we had it on a shelf advertising it loud and proud. I had never seen such blatant disrespect to God, and was in awe of such blatant disregard for Religion. Our state has banned several books but thankfully Dawkins great work was not one of them. I purchased it and read it under the covers at night, when Mom and Dad couldn't see it.

I'd never been told the horrors of Religion before, and boy were there horrors. Crusades, The Dark Ages, Witch hunts, Suppression of Galileo and Reason.

What's more Dawkins criticized those who made fun of homosexuality. It was like I had an ally after all these years. I wasn't an "abomination" I was a normal gay teen.

After pondering over the words in that book I realized it all had been a lie. EVERY, SINGLE, THING. Everything I was told to cling dear to, everything that I believed without questioning was a lie. I realized that the hatred of who I was didn't come from "Satan" or anyone else, but from Christianity itself. My classmates would not have been against who I was if they were atheists, instead it was Religion that caused all the pain. Most of the suffering in this world came from this mind poison and lie. After reading The God Delusion for the second time (and checking Mom was out) I shouted my declaration of Godlessness.

"FUCK YOU JESUS, FUCK YOU!!! I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOUR BOOK OF LIES!!!!!!"

It sounded almost pathetic in hindsight, but it was my door through to reason. My newfound Atheism led me to research millions of new subjects that I had known nothing about. I knew barely anything about Evolution or the Universe, but after discovering naturalistic explanations explained every lie I'd been fed, I happily devoured all of them. I fell in love with Carl Sagan (almost literally ;) and gobbled up Cosmos like a hungry child.

It has been several years since that incident and I am openly atheist and gay to most who know me. My parents were so dissapointed at first when I told them I was a gay atheist, and I think it strained our relationship a lot. I still live with my Parents but hopefully I'll be able to move to a more Liberal city soon.

Anyways just as a closing mesage, we should not be ashamed of who we are. We were all formed by nature and should be vocal. Religion threatens our laws, our relationships and our sanity. We atheists NEED to be vocal. To see 1.2 million proud atheists registered on this site makes me really proud, and hopeful that America will become a rational republic like our founding fathers intended.

Anyways I have to go visit Family now, but I just wanted to send this message to my fellow Godless Redittors. Stay Strong then we will be unstopabble. We should not hold back our words. Religious lies deserve no privelages. As Harris said - If I could get rid of rape or Religion, I would get rid of Religion. Religion is Worse than Rape, as it motivates rape and countless other attrocities. I hope within this generation Christianity becomes a minority in America. In Europe, church attendance has fallen down to miniscule levels. I'm thankful to be an Atheist, An Anti Theist and a Homosexual, and soon in America, thanks to the efforts of us we will become the majority (Well not the homosexual part)

EDIT: Wow guys front page! Thank you so much for the support. It makes me proud that there are people standing up for Atheism. Soon I believe, Religious influence will be destroyed in America. With the internet and boards like [2] /r/atheism we are a far greater force than we realize

Source

We know the OP of this post is a real Black Atheist™ because he awkwardly shoe horns into every sentence words a suburban white tween would think a black man might say, like "vibes" and "brother." He then uses his As Le Blackman credentials to throw in a couple slurs, casually dropping "niggers and coons" like it isn't even a thing, which it isn't, because he's black, remember?

But, to steal another term from the LGBT community and reappropriate it for atheism, it gets better. In the very first sentence, "Black Dude" uses the word "bravery" without any sense of irony. He then goes on to regale us with an incomprehensible tale about lesbians and his evil mom (she's evil, just trust him) and how our blatheist hero is praying for his mom or something. Just roll with it. Basically, his mom thinks she's bad and ain't got no class, so our hero rocks his LOGIC up her muthafuckin ass.

But then we get to Edit #2. And it's beautiful.

If there really was a God, it'd be Reddit; A collective conscious of experiences, knowledge, and positive and negative "energy".

There you have it, you jive-turkey, honky mothafuckas. They have Ph.D.s from the University of Sweden, they are board certified in Sagan quotes and rage comics, they have been awarded medals from seven different science fairs in middle school, and they are never, ever sick of Mountain Dew. So I ask you; when someone goes onto Facebook and they fall to their keyboard and they ask their relatives for prayers that their wife doesn't miscarry or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trama from postoperative shock, who do you think they're praying to? Now, go ahead and read your Bible, fundies, and you go to your church, and, with any luck, you might win the annual raffle, but if you're looking for God, he was in his mom's basement on October 2, and he doesn't like to be second guessed. You ask me if /r/atheism has a God complex. Let me tell you something: /r/atheism is God.

Le unadulterated bravery:

Not sure how I feel right now.. But I'm sure later on the emotion might reveal itself as some form of bravery. I think. Got a couple good ones in there about praying for her, because I would continue to love everyone no matter who they were. Exposed her by asking what "Jesus" would do; She spewed(sorry mom) something that alluded to picking and choosing, and I tore the hugest hole in... that argument. So yea, feels good man. Later yall!

P.S. We might as well have been arguing over "niggers" and "coons", because that's the type of dividing vitriol that was and currently is infecting our household.

Reporting live from the back patio, A fellow heathen

Edit: Positive vibes to our brothers and sisters of ALL COLOURS.

Edit #2: You guys are amazing, amazing, amazing! If there really was a God, it'd be Reddit; A collective conscious of experiences, knowledge, and positive and negative "energy". Thank you for sharing with the world how truly evolved we've all come along and how as creatures with the potential and infinite propensity for change that one things for sure;

We're gonna keep on keeping on! :)

Black dude out.

Last night I took a call at a local hospital. Picked up this older couple at the ER. I was my usual charming self, asking how they were, where would you like to go, the typical cabdriver banter. They weren't going far, a short shitty trip. It got much worse.

About halfway through the trip, as we were talking about various places we had lived, they mentioned that they had been to South Africa. I thought that was pretty cool until they said they were there as missionaries. Fuck! Here comes the fucking religion...

They tell me that they are christians. "What are you?" one of them asked.

"I am an atheist." I replied.

"We were both atheists, but now we are christian." Like I give a fuck. Please red light, turn green already!

I kept my cool, although I knew I wouldn't get a tip because evangelical christians don't fucking tip. We get to their place and I tell them "Seven dollars."

"Can we get a missionary discount?" It was a serious struggle not to laugh in their faces. I told them, "When my landlord starts discounting my rent, then I will consider it, until then it is seven dollars."

As the woman was digging in her purse, the man asked me "Do you own a watch?" My answer? "No." Cut that fucking watchmaker fallacy off at the pass.

They kept on trying though. The woman told me "Jesus loves you." I told her "I'll take your word for that." I stayed polite and respectful, because I treat fucking idiots with respect too.

The old man tried again, some more christian bullshit. I told them, "I think we need to end this conversation. Please get out."

I worked that story for tips for the rest of the night. Thank Satan I live in Portland, the least religious city in the country, where mocking christians pays, even though the christians don't.

Sauce.

###Great Wind

Swirling in the depths of the past, the mighty storm of bravery has grown upon the shores of this mighty world not made for us. Here we stand to bear witness to the swell of solar dust longing for collection behind the sails of our enlightenment. Here, we find another noble hero, realizing before the end has come, that his life can have meaning -- meaning without a notion of god. Here, we are to thank. All of us, united in our courageous stride towards the ideals before us have inspired this man. Let him be as this for us, an inspiration, an aspiration, and above all, an affirmation -- of life.

###What is Bravery?

I am a 54 year old reconverted catholic. Its a bit difficult to let go of a belief system that shapes ones life, and here is how it happened. My son came home after his freshman year in college and announced he was an atheist and had been secretly for quite some time. After offering all the lame catholic concerns for his soul and getting no where, I capitulated, and asked him to give me a list of books he had read that changed his mind. I got a lot more than I bargained for, after Dawkins, dennet, hitchens, Harris and more, I am now convinced that my son and the atheists that I was deaf to, have a lot to say and make complete sense. I used to wonder about the omnipotent god who forgot to make Adam a suitable mate and mused how cows and such just wouldn't do or how he, god, didn't know who told Adam he was naked. And the total cruelty of the ot god! Anyway, I have left religion, and god, behind as figments of human imaginations who must fill the gap between knowledge and awareness. This is my conclusion. Life does one thing, it lives. Every living thing strives to continue living. Most of the living world is unaware of it's unavoidable death. But religion is what happens when the ignorant living become aware of ther own lives and their own deaths. The book, history of god, convinced me of this because the human conception of god has changed and, oh yes, evolved, as we have built our knowledge base. If dogs became self aware tomorrow, think of the chaos that would ensue as they tried to create an explanation for their own eternal lives. So, I am probably not the first to conclude this, but that is where we as a species have landed. Because we live, we work very hard at living instinctively, like dogs. Because we are self aware, we had to create a system that allows us to live forever, as we had such little information to explain our situation and our sad realization of our own mortality. Now that we know so much more, religion is such a lot of superstition to bring our living and aware minds a little comfort. I don't think it could have played out any other way. The very frustrating thing is that we, as a species are not embracing the knowledge and instead cling to unhealthy superstition. And for 50 years I was a clinger. It took 3 years of study and thinking, but today I am free. Edit: Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on this post. This was a great first experience on Reddit.

http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/10kte6/if_your_faith_can_move_mountains/

So can a quote from Reddit. And so once again it runs full circle. The holy spirits of Dawkins, Sagan, Tyson, Hawkings and Maher have bestowed enough knowledge to the prophets of /r/atheism. The power of deep faith in Science^tm has struck a chord in the mandolin of disbelief to render faith useless. Only among the bravest of the ratheist chosen would be as sacred as the avatars of Atheism.

Ruben2287 is the first. And to many more! ::raises glass::

Cheers!